Tales of Symphonia Genderswitch!
by CatMuto
Summary: Yes, the story of ToS just with different Genders! Rated T, just in Case. I try to stay as close as possible to story.
1. The Chosen is off to his Journey

**Welcome to .. Another one of my Stories.**

**Tales of Symphonia - Genderswitch!**

**This story was actually supposed to be a Manga,  
but I still have some Trouble with the last touch of the Character Design.  
So, in some time there will be Pics of the Chars Outfits and them, but don't worry  
I will give descriptions of them in the story.**

**Some scenes may be different, but that's how they will appear in the Manga.**

**Let's go with ToS - G!**

* * *

_Once upon a time, there existed a giant Tree, that was the source of all Mana.  
However, when a war broke out, the Tree died away and the Hero of the War  
sacrificed her life, in order to resurrect it._

_The Godess grieved over the Hero's loss and disappeared back into Heaven  
leaving the Angels a last message._

_"If I ever sleep, wake me up, or this world will be destroyed .."_

_The Angels searched out the Chosen One and sent that One to the Tower, which  
reached into the Heaven._

_And that was the beginning of the World's Regeneration Journey .._

* * *

The little village of Iselia was small and not very modern, but it was mostly known as the homeplace  
of the Chosen of Sylvarant.  
The Chosen, a young boy in his late teenage years, was, of course, at this time of the day at school.  
The schoolbuilding was small and every child was taught in the same room, but there was never any  
trouble or protest against that.

At the moment, the class was being taught History about the Kharan War and everyone was listening.  
Aside from one girl.  
Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail, her bangs mostly brushed over to the right side.  
She was wearing long red gloves with lacing on the sides, identical boots. She had the end of her black  
pants tucked into them.  
There was a red leather wrap around her waist tied with a belt, several pockets on it with a red leather shirt,  
also with lacing, on her top.  
Two belts around her hip held her two swords.  
She wasn't listening to the teacher, nor really looking at him.  
Her gaze was on the empty seat next to her, the sun coming from inside the windows just barely lightening it.

"The Tower of Salvation .. I can't stop thinking what so special is about it." she thought to herself. "I know it's  
needed for the Regeneration of Sylvarant, but .. what does it look like on the inside? Is it, maybe, filled with  
treasures? Or a barren altar with Cruxis' Prophets on it? Or maybe .."

"Laura Irving!" the teacher yelled and he slammed his hand on the girl's desk.  
Laura instantly jumped and stared at the hand, then at her teacher.

"Are you listening _at all_?" he growled.  
The teacher was young and had silverish hair closely tucked to his head, hiding his ears and his neck, just  
barely curling upwards at the ends.  
He was wearing small round glasses and a white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows,  
a pair of black wide pants underneath and white boots with a curvy top. As always, he had taken his orange-black  
coat off and hung it over the back of the chair.

"O-of course I've listened, Refill-Sensei." Laura stuttered, lying rather bluntly.

"You have?" Refill smirked a bit, looking sardistically at his pupil. "Very well. Then answer the following question, thoroughly,  
of course."  
He cleared his throat.  
"During the time of the Ancient War, there was the rumour that the Desians had cut off any way to get food,  
except for their side of course. Was the rumour true, and how did it appear? How did our Warriors manage to survive, if  
every shop and stand was watched?"

Laura kept quiet.

"Wrong answer!" he snapped and Laura got a piece of chalk snapped at her forehead. He turned to the class, a dark  
aura surrounding him. "_You were paying attention, weren't you?_"

"O-of course!" the students squeaked frightened.

"Let's see .. Ginni, answer."

"Ah, yes!" a girl in her last years of pre-teen got up.  
She was most likely the sister of the teacher, having the same silverish hair and blue eyes. Her hair was cut short, just  
two thick strands hanging over her shoulders.  
She was wearing a one piece blue dress with a white swirly pattern over it, a smiliar vest with slit sleeves over it.  
Underneath, she was wearing a black suit that covered her thighs and elbows. A cross-like clip was pulling some of her bangs back.

"The rumour was false, or so someone said. But that person was actually a spy from the Desians. He went back to our enemies  
and told them to watch the stands and shops. The traitor later on got killed in the next big wave of attacks in the next week.  
The Hero, Mystia, though, was able to give our Warriors some supply of food from other villages. Later on,  
of course, she formed a pact with the Godess Martel and sealed away the Desians."

"Correct." Refill sighed silently and went back behind the desk. "It's the Day of the Prophecy, the day  
where the Oracle's Light shall glow and therefore, the Chosen One will go on the Journey of Worldregeneration. Chosen One .. Kotaro?"  
There was no answer from the students.  
"Kotaro! Get up from the floor!"

A blond haired head popped up from the floor, from the spot where the empty seat was.  
It was a teenage boy and he stood completely up, having tripped to the floor.  
His hair was very long, it reached down most of his back and it was a bright blonde, followed with blue eyes.  
He was dressed mostly in white, a linear pattern of blue on it. It was some white pants with a white shirt,  
over that he had on a long vest made out of heavy and sturdy material, a slight metallic sound underneath it,  
whenever he sat down.

"Kotaro .. Tell us again what the purpose of the Worldregeneration is." Refill asked him, trying to remain calm.

"Of course!" Kotaro smiled widely, a strand of his hair always pointing upwards. "The purpose of the Chosen One is  
reaching each seal on the Journey, breaking it and therefore giving the land Mana. At the end, the Godess Martel will  
be resurrected."

"Correct. Although as the Chosen One, it's obvious you know this." Refill pushed his glasses up. "Now, the next question is-"  
He was cut off by a bright white light shining into the classroom, blinding everyone for a moment.  
"Everyone, stay calm!" Refill ordered them, looking towards the west. "I will go and check on the Chapel."  
He went towards the door of the classroom.  
"Sensei, I will go with you." Kotaro said.  
Refill shook his head. "You stay here. If it really is the Oracle, the Priestesses will come and get you."

With the teacher gone, most of the students started to talk with each other, entertaining themselves with little games.  
Laura stretched and got up, heading for the door.  
"Hang on!" Ginni jumped towards her. "Where are you going?"

"To the Chapel, D'uh."

"We're supposed to stay here!"

"It's a Fieldtrip, Miss Ginevra Kley Sage."

Ginni flushed. "Don't call me by my full name! And you're just making up excuses!"

"Excuses are Explanations. Hey, Kotaro," she turned to the teenager. "wanna come with?"

Kotaro got up and walked over.  
"Sure. Where are we off to?"

"To the Chapel. Aren't you excited about the Oracle?"

"Hm .. Are you?"

"Of course!"

Kotaro laughed. "Alright, we'll go then."

The village was unusally quiet when they left, everyone in their houses, only the Grocery Shop open for important business.  
"Kotaro-kun!"

Kotaro turned around. "Mother!"  
A woman in her late thirties came closer, her blonde hair barely touching her shoulders and wearing a loose blue shirt with  
brown pants.  
"Are you going to the Chapel?"

"Yes. It's the Oracle, right?"

"Yes .. but .." Kotaro's mother seemed worried. "Please be careful. The Desians are at the chapel."

"Don't worry, Mother. We'll be fine." Kotaro calmed his mother down.

The tree kids left the village, dodging and fighting some monsters that kept coming from the west.  
"Where did they come from at all?" Laura huffed, slashing a wolf creature with her two swords.

"They most likely belong to the Chosen's Trial." Ginni suggested.

Laura sighed. "Whatever. As long as I have this" she tenderly patted the back of her left hand. "we'll be safe."

"Yes, you and your precious Exsphere." Ginni teased and used her magic to burn an attacking eagle.  
The closer they got to the chapel, though, the louder it got.  
There was the sound of metall hitting on metall, screams and battle-yells.

"Wonder what's going on up there .." Laura muttered and Kotaro pointed to a struggling Priestess,  
stepping down the hill on weak knees.

"Chosen ..!" she breathed and tripped, falling to the floor.  
They rushed to her side.

"Chosen .. hurry and hide .. the Desians are at the chapel .." she breathed, flinched and lay still.

"Hang in there, please!" Kotaro asked her to, but Laura checked the puls and shook her head.  
They were silent for a minute ..  
Kotaro got up and faced the chapel. "I'm going."  
"K-kotaro, are you nuts?" Ginni gasped. "The Desians are there!"

"I know. But I have to go." he looked at his two friends. "I'm the Chosen One, after all."

"But you're not going alone! Right, Laura?"  
Laura nodded and Kotaro thanked them, the three quickly running up the slanted hill to the chapel.

Three Desians were surrounding an old man in a white and purple robe, his closely chopped hair  
turning from blonde to grey.  
The Desians were dressed in a red-black outfit, the middle one wearing a cream colored robe with  
a grey or rather brownish cloth over the front, tied with a rope.

"Where's the Chosen One?" the middle, female Desians asked. Her hair was almost black and  
it was mostly brushed back with a few strands falling to the front.  
The man just stepped back, remaining silent.  
But he flinched when he saw Kotaro getting closer.

"Grandfather!"

"Kotaro, run!" Kotaro's grandfather snapped at him, meaning it as a well advice.  
The Desians, not being deaf, turned and looked at the three teens.

"Bato-sama, that must be him!" one of the Desians hissed.

Bato nodded. "Chosen One, your live is ours now!"  
She charged at Kotaro, wielding a big bastard-sword, but a swift move and a sharp _klang_ made her step back.  
Laura had parried Bato's attack, holding her two swords like a cross in front of her.

"I think not." she smirked. "The Desians will never lay hand on the Chosen!"

"Desians, they think .. Well, then get killed by our 'Desian'." one of the underlings hissed and whistled.

A very, very big woman appeared, fully packed with muscles that she had no female curves anywhere,  
wielding a morning star and a hammer.  
And she immediately charged at the teenagers.

Laura flinched and ducked, swinging her right arm upwards, parrying a hit of the big woman's morning star.  
Trying to kick her legs underneath her, the teenager made a sway and was behind her,  
jumping up, ready to strike.  
"Laura, watch out!" Kotaro yelled.

The woman threw the hammer in her other hand upwards, directly at Laura.  
She couldn't dodge it anymore.  
_  
Klang!_  
Laura hit the ground, someone over her half-way and the hammer falling off course.  
The teenager tried to look at whoever was on top of her, but the person had jumped up  
and charged at the big woman again.  
Whoever it was, was wearing a dark-blue outfit with light-blue trimmings.  
The big woman fell, finally sliding down the side of the hill and laying still.

The person who had just saved Laura was a woman.  
A very well endowed woman with auburn hair that reached down to the middle of her back, her left eye  
obscured by the long bangs.  
She was wearing a tight suit made out of dark blue material with light blue highlights, a loose darkblue cloth  
over her torso and tied around her waist, a swallow-tailed cape around her shoulders.  
She had her sword in her left hand and a black circular shield on the other one.  
"You all alright?" she asked, her voice rather low, but still female and quite confident, yet somehow sensual.

"Yes, we are." Kotaro replied friendly, Laura catching sight of a glint.

"Is that an Exsphere?"  
The woman didn't answer, instead, Kotaro's Grandfather stepped forward.  
"Thank you for saving the Chosen and his friends."

"So, you are the Chosen .." the woman muttered, looking at Kotaro, then glancing at the others.  
Kotaro nodded. "Grandfather, I'm going to undergo the Trial now."

"What exactly is this Trial?" Laura asked.

"The Chosen is to get the Heaven's Call from Cruxis." the old man told them. ".. But the priests who were supposed  
to accompany her died."

"Ah, how about I protect Kotaro instead?" the girl suggested, looking all to enthusiastic on doing it.

"Laura, you alone?" the old man, Pandron, asked. "I'm not sure if that would be enough .."

The woman looked at the girl.  
"Your name is Laura?" she asked, sounding surprised, slightly hopeful.

"Yes, that's right." she said and looked rather sullen at the elder one. She knew that the latter was better, but not  
that she was happy about it. "But before you ask others for your name, how about giving your own?"

The woman smirked slightly at Laura's boldness.  
"I am Karen, a mercenary." she turned to Pandron. "If you pay me, I'd gladly take on the job of protecting the Chosen during  
his Journey."

"We don't have any other choice. Very well, we'll engage you."

"W-wait, I'm going to go with you." Laura stepped forward.

Karen whipped her head around, frowning at Laura.  
"Laura, you stay here, it's too dangerous further on."

".. Very well." the girl smirked, slanting her eyes downwards. "Then I will just follow you, no matter if you give your permission or not."

"Hm, you're a stubborn girl. Do as you please."

Laura grinned and turned to Ginni, pulling her along inside, catching up with Kotaro and Karen.

* * *

The inside of the Chapel was dark, barely lit by some torches and so cold it was almost damp.  
Karen, next to Kotaro, turned her head to look over her shoulder.

"Laura, I was wondering; did you teach your techniques yourself?"

"Yes, I did. Pretty good, mh?" the girl smirked.

Karen smiled slightly, although it looked more like a sneer full of pity.  
Turning back, she couldn't see the rude gesture Laura made to her and they entered the room through the big portal opening in front of them.  
The room's ceiling went high and the altar at the back of the room was a risen platform with small steps leading towards it.  
In the middle was a blood red jewel, glistening with the Oracle's light reflecting in it.  
"So that's a Cruxis Crystal?" Laura asked.

"Yes. My mother and grandfather told me that I was holding it in my hand when I was born." Kotaro told her  
and Ginni gasped, pointing upwards.

"What's that Light?" she asked.

As almost selfexplanatory, the light expanded and blinded them all for a second.  
When it simmer down they saw a woman floating above them with the help of two white wings.  
She had blonde hair that went down to her chin, a thick strand tracing along her left side, a beret slanted over her head  
and a long robe, both of out white and green material with golden tracings.

"I am Remielle." she said and smiled down to them.

"An angel, so .. does that mean that's Kotaro's real mother?" Ginni whispered to Laura.

"I have been sent down from the Heavens to assist the Chosen of Mana." Remielle continued.

Kotaro stepped forward, looking a bit nervous.  
"I am the Chosen of Mana."

Remielle nodded.  
"I see." she lifted her hand and the Cruxis Crystal floated and rushed at Kotaro, attaching itself with a flash of light to his collar bone.  
"From now on, you are officially known as the Chosen of Mana. And we of Cruxis bless this event, bestowing the  
Tower of Salvation on Sylvarant."

The earth shook and grolled while something rose in the middle of the world.  
Laura and Ginni ran to the high windows of the room and stared at the Tower of Salvation rising up, into the skies and even beyond,  
just barely being a thin line in the distance.

"Chosen." Remielle said and Kotaro turned back to her. "The Journey will be hard and long, but, please, endure it."

Kotaro nodded.  
"As the Chosen, I will do my best to regenerate Sylvarant."

"Then I will await you at the first Seal, south of here."  
Remielle floated upwards, but Kotaro took a step forwards.

"Um, Remielle-sama, I have a question to ask." he said and Remielle stopped, listening. ".. Could it be that you are truly my m-"

"I will await you at the Seal, my dear son Kotaro." she said in a whisper and disappeared in a flash of golden light.

They all remained silent for a moment, Kotaro still looking at the space where Remielle had disappeared.  
Karen put a hand onto his shoulder.  
"Chosen, we should go back to the village and tell them that you have received the Oracle." she suggested and Kotaro nodded.

He turned for a second to the two girls.  
"I'll see you two at the village." he said and bowed slightly, leaving with Karen.

When the two figures were out of sight, Ginni sighed.  
"So the rumor is true."

"What rumor?" Laura asked, never having heard of it.

"They say that Kotaro isn't really the child of Francesse, but was found in this Chapel sixteen years ago. That he was the child of an angel."

Laura inclined her head to the side and frowned.  
".. It doesn't matter if your family around you is your real one, as long as you care for each other - that's family." she said with a sigh.

"Oh, right, you're .. sorry."

Laura waved her hand. "It's okay. Come on, let's go home."

They were walking through the chapel and got close to the exit, when they stopped and saw a familiar person.  
Refill was standing a bit to the side, carefully studying one of the pillars and it's textures.  
"Let's sneak past .." Ginni whispered and they slowly and carefully went a circle around him, trying to not make a tiny noise.

"Who's there?" Refill asked, whirling around and staring at them. "Laura, Ginni?"

They stopped dead in their tracks, one foot already lifted and slowly turned their heads.  
He stepped towards them, a sardistic sneer on his face.  
"What are you two doing here?"

"W-well, Refill-sensei," Laura started and scratched the back of her head. "the Oracle was there and we, that is me, Ginni and Kotaro,  
went to the Chapel and-"

"Ditching class, huh?" he asked, a nerve on his temple twitching.

"N-no, not ditching at all!" Ginni squeaked, looking at Laura. "Right?"

"Y-yes, we weren't ditching at all!"

"No excuses!" Refill yelled and both got kicked against the wall. "You two better go home now!"

The two girls got up and nodded vigorously, holding their stomachs.  
"What about you, Big Brother?" Ginni asked, whincing.

"Pandron gave me permission to study the Chapel's inside a bit more, so I'll be home late." he explained and  
watched the two leaving the chapel, turning to the pillars again. "Fascinating ..!"

* * *

They were faster back at the village than they thought and Ginni said they should go to Kotaro's house,  
since this might be the last time they see him before he goes on his Journey.  
The preteen knocked politely on the door and entered with Laura, when a voice said "Come in!" from inside.  
The mayor of Iselia, a stout woman with greying hair, was sitting at the table,  
together with the three Brunel's and Karen.

"-Refill will accompany you and the Chosen, as well." she said.

"I have no objections to that." Karen said and Kotaro smiled at Laura and Ginni.

"Thank you for the help at the Chapel." he nodded.

Laura waved her hand in her characteristic way.  
"It's no problem, none at all." she looked at the grown ups then. "You were talking about the Journey to  
Regenerate Sylvarant just now, weren't you?"

"That's right." Pandron said.

"Perfect, I'm going to go with Kotaro and protect him." she grinned.

"If my brother is going with, so am I." Ginni agreed, nodding her head vigorously so that her thick bangs bounced.

"You will most certainly not." Karen stated cooly, not even looking at them.

"What? And why shouldn't we?!" Laura snapped at her and flinched when Karen turned her head to  
look at her with a cold stare.

"The Chapel wasn't a threat to your lifes - the upcoming Journey is far more dangerous than you could imagine." her  
lips curled into a sneer. "Children should stay safely at home."

"Karen-sama is absolutely right about that." the mayor agreed. "Well, you two better go home now, it's going to get dark soon."

The two girls pouted and left the house, just to be stopped by Kotaro outside the door.  
"Wait a second, you two." he asked them and tripped on the two steps, falling forwards.

They both tried to not laugh, but it was such a typical thing for Kotaro to trip over his own feet.  
He quickly got up and brushed himself off, the familiar metallic clinking underneath his long vest.  
"I'm sorry about that, you two."

"It's okay. They're _maybe_ right." Laura said and sighed.

Ginni clapped her hands together for a second.  
"Ah, I just remembered." she thrust a hand into her pocket and pulled out a little white sack tied together with a pink  
silk ribbon. "Happy Birthday, Kotaro! I baked you some chocolate cookies. If I had known you'd leave the next day,  
I'd have made something more special .."

Kotaro took the little sack and laughed.  
"It's perfect, Ginni, you know how much I like your cookies."

Ginni blushed for a second with embarrassement and turned to Laura.  
"And? Weren't you going to make him something?" she asked with a grin.

The other girl flinched and tightened her ponytail.  
"Uh, It's almost done! I just have to do a little more refining and it'll be done!" she stuttered slightly.

"I'm going to look forward to it."

Laura nodded.  
"J-just tell me when you'll leave tomorrow and I'll give it to you beforehand."

Kotaro nodded. "I'll come over to your house later on. See you later." he entered his home again to continue the discussion.  
Ginni, meanwhile, sneered at Laura.

"Liar."

".. If I start now, I'll finish something in time."

"Whatever .." Ginni sighed. "You're going home now, right? Can I follow you part of the way?"

Laura nodded and the two left for the south exit of the village.  
"Laura, that .. that thing of yours is causing trouble again!" one of the guards at the exit said.

"Eh?" she stretched her neck to look up higher. "Noishe!"

The two girls made a small skip to the big dog creature with large ears and white and green fur.  
Noishe whined and thrust her nose between Laura's arm and torso, while the guards sighed.  
"Anyway, Laura, you haven't by chance went to the Human Ranch in the western part of the Forest, have you?" the guard asked.  
"Since you always come through the Forest to school."

"I never went close to that thing." she said, scratching Noishe behind the ear. "I'm not insane, you know."

"Very well .. because we've been hearing things of them getting sight of someone from the village close to there."

The guards let the matter rest and the two girls with the big dog creature left for the western forest.

* * *

The forest was silent and although there were a lot of trees, it was still rather bright and easy to see the path.  
Laura kept close to Noishe, who usually ran quickly through the forest to their home.  
"Say, Ginni, you're going to see that friend of yours?"

"Eh?"

"The friend who you always give part of your lunch to." Laura grinned at Ginni's blush.

"Yeah .. he usually doesn't have enough to eat, so I felt sorry for him and went there every day to give him something .."

"Well, I'm sure that dog is very thankful to you."

Ginni stopped in her tracks and pouted angrily. "It's a human!"  
Laura lifted her eyebrows at that news and shrugged her shoulders. "I was wrong, then. I thought you were keeping  
a pet dog a secret from Refill-sensei."

About halfway through the forest, Ginni got slower and finally stopped again.  
She kept her head a bit low and shuffled her foot along the ground.  
"Well, this is where I'll leave you."

Laura frowned and looked to the side at the big iron gate with a fitting wire around the sides.  
"But that's the Human Ranch. We're not allowed there."

"I know .. but I really want to tell him about the Oracle .."

Laura sighed and patted Noishe's head a bit.  
"You wait here." and she turned to Ginni. "Come on. Let's tell your friend about the Oracle - I'm not gonna let you go there alone."

Ginni looked happy about that and nodded, the two getting closer to the Human Ranch.  
Finally, they went down on all four and crawled behind bushes along the fences.  
"Marlmu ..! Marlmu-san ..!" Ginni whispered and a figure stepped out from a shadow to the fence.

It was an old man wearing a tattered old robe and bad shoes that had holes in them,  
his white hair reaching his shoulder blades and pulled back by a piece of cloth he had ripped from his pants.  
"Ginni-chan, nice to see you." he said in a raspy voice.

"Mh, of course I came." the preteen said and held a hand to Laura. "And this is Laura Irving, I told you about her."

"Nice to meet you." Marlmu nodded and so did Laura.

"Did you see the Oracle?" Ginni asked and Marlmu nodded again.

"Of course I did." he put his wrinkly hands up and clasped them together. "Let's hope that the Chosen will finish his Journey."

"The last Chosen didn't make it, right?" Laura asked.

"Yes, she was killed by the Desians .." Marlmu said and coughed, covering his mouth with a hand.

"Ah?" Laura's eyes widened at the stone in his hand. "Say, Old Man-"

"His name is Marlmu!"

"Marlmu-san," she corrected herself. "is that an Exsphere?"

The old man looked at the stone in his hand, a greenish color.  
"That's what it's called? They put it onto me when I came here."

"That's pretty dangerous having an Exsphere without a Keycrest."

"What do you mean? You're using an Exsphere, after all." Ginni contered.

"Yes, but it has a keycrest. See, Exsphere are enhancers to your abilites, but are also very dangerous." she explained.  
"Direct contact with the skin can cause the Mana inside you to get out of control - but they are useless, unless they have skincontact.  
So, you have to make a keycrest around it to nullify that effect."

"You know a lot about them." Marlmu complimented her. Laura scratched the back of her head embarrassed.

"So, you could make a Keycrest for him, right?" Ginni asked full of hope.

"It's not that easy .. making Keycrests is a Dwarfen Art."

"But your mother is a dwarf!" Ginni exclaimed and quickly hushed her voice. "Can't you ask her to make one?"

"Well, I'm not so sure .. But I'll ask her." Laura quickly said, seeing Ginni's features dropping.

"Who's there!?" a deep voice yelled and they all flinched.

"The Desians are coming! Quickly, you two, leave!" Marlmu snapped at them.

"B-but, Marlmu-san .."

"Go!"

Laura whistled and Noishe dashed towards them and the girl thrust the preteen onto the dog, the dog dashing off again.  
Meanwhile, the gate had been opened and some Desians in dark red uniforms ran out.  
"You there, don't move!!" they yelled and charged at her.

"Dammit!" Laura curst and pushed the flaps of her collar up and zipped it close, obscuring her face up to her eyes.  
Then she charged back at them, using her swords as well as her elbows and legs to render them unconscious.  
It took her a bit, never having fought several enemies at once, but she managed and cursed once more,  
when more Desians came charging at her.  
Seeing no other way out, she sheathed her swords again and jumped down the cliff to the right.

The Desians were stunned and stared down the cliff she had jumped down, when someone approached them.  
The woman had light green hair that curled at the edges and a cannon instead of a left arm.  
She used her good eye, the other one being behind an eyepatch, to glare at the Desians.  
"Check the Main-Gate's records and find out who that is!" she ordered them.

"Yes, Ma'am!" they said and left.

She stared down the cliff, smirking. "Mhh, how could a mere human make such a jump - or even survive it?"

Meanwhile, Laura had her arms crossed in front of her face, shielding it from branches or leaves cutting her,  
and landed with a sudden and painful sensation up her feet and legs on the ground.  
"Laura!" Ginni ran towards her, Noishe at her heels. "Are you okay?"

Laura sat down on the grass and sighed.  
"Yeah, nothing's broken." she said and got up, swaying a bit with the sudden weight on her legs again.

"Laura .. I'm sorry. Because I lagged so long about the Exsphere they noticed us .."

"It's okay. They didn't see you - and I hid my face the best I could."

"But what if they do figure out that you are from Iselia?!" the preteen gasped. ".. But .. thanks for asking your  
mother about the Keycrest."

"Hey, that's what friends are for." Laura grinned suddenly. "But for that you'll have to do my homework."

Ginni giggled about that and nodded.  
"I'll go home now - see you later." she said and ran off back to the village,  
while Laura sighed and lifted herself on Noishe.

"Come on, let's get home." she said and Noishe barked once, dashing off to the other side of the forest.

* * *

Out of the forest, Laura jumped off of Noishe and the two slendered slowly towards the two stored wodden house.  
"Noishe, why did you go to the village today?" she asked. "Usually you stay away .."

Noishe whined and barked several times, rubbing her head against Laura's shoulder, whining.  
"I don't understand what you want .. if only you could speak human language .."  
Noishe whined again and then dashed off into the little secluded place next to the house which was her stall.  
Laura went to a gravestone.

"I'm home, Dad." she said and gave a quick silent prayer, entering the house then. "I'm home, Mam."

A woman with well toned muscles and a dark tan was at an oven, crafting something.  
She had wild brown hair standing up from her head, wearing an overall and a white shirt with some oil stains on them.  
"Welcome home, Laurra."

Laura hesitated for a moment and then decided to ask right out.  
"Mam, could you perhaps make a Keycrest?"

"Surre I could. Why do you need one?"

"Uh .. I .. I saw someone today who needed a Keycrest over their Exsphere."

The woman, Daira stepped to Laura, she was about half her height and frowned.  
"Laurra, Dwarven Vow Number 11: Lying is the firrst step to thieverry." she said. "Now, who had this Exsphere?"

"Um .. a .. a travelling mercernary." Laura stuttered and flinched when Daira frowned even more. ".. I .. uh, I went to the Human Ranch."

"You went to the Rranch!?" Daira snapped. "Why did you do that!? .. The Desians didn't see yourr Exspherre, did they?"

"No, I kept it hidden!" Laura said. "Why is it so important for me to keep it hidden, though? The mercenary I saw today had it  
visible in the open."  
Laura thought for a moment, if perhaps that was the reason why Karen was stronger than her.

".. Because that Exspherre is special. It belonged to yourr father."

"I know .. you told me that." Laura said, her voice sounding flat, like it always did when the talk got to her father.

"Yes, but the rreason why he died is because the Desians wanted that Exspherre." Daira said and sighed. "They killed him forr it."

"What ..!?"

Daira frowned, knowing what went through Laura's head now.  
"I tell you, young Lady, don't go afterr the Desians!" she said, wagging her finger at the girl. "The Orracle appearred and Kotarro will  
rregenerrate the Worrld. That'll take carre of them, too."

Laura bit her lip, blushing that her thoughts of revenge on the Desians was so obvious.  
".. Well? Are you going to make a Keycrest?" she asked instead.

"Laurra, have you listened to me!?"

"Yeah, I heard you!" she snapped back. "I know now that you _lied_ to me all the time!"  
Daira smacked Laura hard so that the girl knocked against the door.  
The girl glared at her mother and went out, banging the door behind her.

She stopped when she saw the little posse in front of the house.  
Refill and Karen, who were obviously accompaning Ginni and Kotaro - respectively, kept to the back while Kotaro was closest to Laura.  
The brunette girl blushed.  
"Uh .. you heard that, didn't you?" she asked.

Kotaro shook his head in a way that meant, it doesn't matter.  
"Say, can we go up onto the terrace for a while?" he asked.

Laura was about to nod when she saw Karen look to the side and walk towards the grave.  
"Sure, just give me a sec, okay?"

Kotaro nodded and sat on the bench next to Noishe's little sanctuary while Laura followed Karen, who was  
kneeling in front of the grave.  
The girl was quiet for a bit and then stepped closer.  
Karen turned around. "This your father's grave?"

Laura nodded.  
"Yeah. Up to now I always thought he died of an accident .." she clenched her fists. "But now I know that the Desians killed him!"

Karen looked indifferent, but looked at the grave again.  
"What about your mother?"

"I don't know about my mother .. But Daira is my mother now."

Karen nodded.  
"Of course, sorry for such a weird question." she apologized.

"No, it's okay." Laura waved her hand and went back to Kotaro. "Let's go."

They climbed up the stairs on the side of the house and leaned against the banister, looking at the fullmoon.  
"Kotaro, sorry for not having your present done yet .." Laura sighed.

"It's okay, I can wait."

"But those things are special, because you get them on your birthday."

Kotaro smiled widely. "Will you at least congratulate me?"

"O-of course!" Laura stuttered, blushing. "Happy Birthday, Kotaro."

"Ehehe, thanks." Kotaro stretched and sighed. "I'm really sixteen now .. and tomorrow I'll leave on the Journey to  
Regenerate Sylvarant .."

"Aren't you happy about it?" Laura asked.

".. Sort of. I'm excited about becoming an angel .. and then .."

"Then?"

Kotaro shook his head.  
"Oh, nothing then." he leaned his hands on the banister. ".. Sorry to hear about your father."

"It's okay .. I'm just ticked off that Daira never told me that my father was killed by the Desians. And now, I have even more of a reason  
to go with on your Journey."

Kotaro kept silent, looking at his friend.  
"And I don't care if Karen or Refill-sensei are going to be against it, I won't stay here! I can't live in a village anymore that has a Peacetreaty  
with the Desians!"

Kotaro watched how Laura massaged her fists, knowing her rage.  
".. We're going to leave tomorrow around Noon." he finally said, looking up at the nightsky again.

"So, I can come with? Great! I'll see you become an Angel and Regenerate the World."

Kotaro nodded and Refill ascended the steps towards them.  
"Done? We should really get back now." he suggested.

"Alright. Good Night, Laura." Kotaro said, nodding slightly.

"Night. I'll see you tomorrow." Laura grinned.

Kotaro sighed and nodded again. "Bye .."  
He descended the steps with Refill and the kids waved to Laura, and she back, when they left the ground.  
Laura stretched.  
"Alright, now to make Kotaro's present!"

* * *

Laura yawned and stretched.  
She thrust the golden chain into her pocket. "Got the Present done and now .. I'll just have to talk with Mam."  
The brunette left the house and found Daira at her father's grave.  
"Um, Mam-"

"Go on ahead, Laurra." Daira interuppted her. "I know I can't stop you frrom going on the Jourrney with Kotarro."  
The dwarfette turned around and grinned.  
"I mean, you'rre my kid afterr all, I know you."

Laura blushed and looked ashamed. "Look, Mam, about yesterday .."

"Herre." Daira handed her a heavy sack and something golden. "Some Gald and the Keycrest."

"Mam .. thanks!" Laura grinned and looked surprised when she saw Ginni running towards her,  
Noishe at her feet. "What are you doing here?"

Ginni gasped for breath. "Rather .. what are _you_ doing here?"  
Laura didn't quite know what she meant with that.  
This was her home after all.

"Hey, good news! I'm gonna go with Kotaro on the Journey and Mam made the Keycrest for Marlmu."

"That's great, Laura, but .." Ginni sighed. "Kotaro already left hours ago!"

"What!?"

* * *

**Whew, this chapter took FOREVER.  
I was stuck on what I'd give Karen as clothes.  
Anyway, let's see about some names ..**

**Phaidra I turned into Pandron, because I kept thinking of Poseidon .. don't ask me why, I don't know.**

**Remiel and Remielle, I couldn't find a perfect name for his femal version.**

**Karen means 'Gentle' by the way, if you don't know Greek.**

**Refill is still Refill, but pronounced "Refi-ru" not "Rihiru".**

Bato I took from 'Bat'. You know, the animal.

**Marlmu is sort of how you pronounce Murmel in Japanese.  
Murmel is german for Marble.  
Haha, I'm too funny, I know.**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
I will draw the characters and show them hopefully soon.**


	2. Towards Triet

**Alright, I found some old sketches of Kotaro - and I made a slight profile picture.  
FINALLY - I managed to make him look like a guy!  
I'm so happy about that!  
Oh and Remielle suddenly became a shihnasized Woman.  
If** **you know what I mean. _Wink wink!_  
And I even managed a bit of Chocolat's Male Form ..  
Now, to get on with the Chapter!**

**Btw, the Numbers of the Hosts are changed, so they are a difference to the other gender.**

* * *

Laura and Ginni, accompanied by Noishe, ran through the forest.  
"What do you mean, Kotaro's been gone for hours?!" the brunette finally gasped between breaths,  
getting closer to the village. "He told me they'd leave around Noon."

"I .. I don't know!" Ginni gasped, keeping up the best she could with Laura. Both stopped and caught their breaths  
when they got to the entrance. "But .. he kept saying 'It is going to be alright' and 'I am going to do my best' to everyone."

The door to Kotaro's house opened almost instantly when they got to the steps and Francesse looked at them.  
"Come in." she said and handed Laura a letter when they did.

Laura opened the letter with a frown and her eyes flew over the page.

_Dear Laura,_

_I'm sorry that I lied to you about when I leave._

_But this Journey is much too dangerous for you and I would never forgive myself  
if anything would happen to you._

_So, please, forgive my lie.  
I'm going to regenerate the world and make sure that you'll life in a peaceful world._

_The last sixteen years with you - and Ginni - were the best of my life and they made me very happy._

_Farewell,_

_Kotaro Brunel_

"This sounds like a Goodbye forever." Laura huffed and folded the letter back together.

"Well, you see .." Francesse started, but they all flinched and didn't move a muscles when there was loud  
noise coming from outside and screams.

Ginni and Laura ran out of the house right away and gasped when they saw the Desians burning down houses  
and chasing villagers around.  
A little possee of villagers and Desians had formed itself in the center and one of the Desians stepped forward.  
"Give us Laura Irving!" he yelled. "Come forth!"

The brunette dashed towards them, nodding to Ginni to keep behind her.  
"What do you think you're doing!?" she snapped at them.

The Desian smirked underneath his mask. "You are accused of having broken the Peacetreaty between  
the village of Iselia and the Western Human Ranch."

"But you Desians broke it first" Ginni yelled at them, stepping forward. "by attacking the Chosen at the Chapel of Martel!"

The Desians looked at each other, obviously wondering what she meant.  
"Ignore the little one, she's talking nonesense." a voice said and the Desians parted, making way  
for a woman.

The woman was obviously the leader of the Ranch, her lean, strong legs stuck in black leggings and a top made  
mostly out of belts.  
"Listen up, you Inferiors!" she said and sneered. "I am Forca, the Leader of the Human Ranch to the West and  
a superior Half-Elf."

Ginni frowned, muttering "Half-Elf ..?" to herself, while Forca kept on going.  
"You, Laura Irving, are accused of having gotten into contact with Host F912. Now, you must gain your punishment!"

And they all stared when a ten foot big thing came stumbled into their village.  
It had blueish scaley skin, mixed with green, a big red gem as an eye in the middle of it's bald head and one big  
muscular arm with claws, the other one as long and thin as the other one was wide, also equipped with sharp claws.  
"W-what is that!?" Laura gasped and covered her face with her arms in instinct, when the monster took a swipe at her.

She got knocked down to the floor by the force and a little white bandage that had been around her left hand  
landed on the floor.  
"Forca-sama, that must be the Angelus Project Exsphere!" one of the Desians gasped at the blueviolet stone on  
Laura's left hand.

"So, you have it." Forca smirked. "Well, then, I'll take it from your corpse once this monster is done with you!"

The monster took a swipe at Laura, who dodged in time, unsheathing her swords, and jumped up high into the air,  
using one of the undamaged houses as support and slashed the monster's arms and shoulders.  
Ginni, meanwhile, had gotten to a safe distance from the monster and was in deep concentration, preforming a spell.  
".. _Wind Cutter!_" she shouted, a blast of wind charging at the monster and cutting it all over it's body.

Finally, the monster succumbed and fell to the ground, Ginni and Laura out of breath.  
"You really are strong .. but only thanks to that Exsphere." Forca said and stepped towards Laura. "Give me that Exsphere!"

"Never!" she yelled. "Don't think that I'd give you the memento of what my father suffered through your hands - ending in his death!"

"What are you talking about?" Forca asked and laughed, then looking serious. "Your father was killed b-"  
A long sharp claw thrust itself through Forca's shoulder.  
The monster had used it's last strength to attack Forca and the gem eye seemed to glisten at Ginni.

"_Ginni .... Laura .. run!_" a strangled, raspy voice echoed through the air and both flinched, recognizing it.

"It can't be .."

"_Ginni .. you were so much like a grandchild to me .._" the same voice said,  
the monster's gem glowed and it exploded, injuring Forca severely.

"Forca-sama!" the Desians yelled and went towards her. ".. Hurry and get Forca-sama to safety! Treat her wounds!!"

* * *

The rain had started slowly but it was now pouring down heavy, all of the villagers soaked.  
All eyes were on Laura, who was staring at the ground, her right hand cramped over her left one.

"You do understand what you caused?" the mayor asked, her bun loosing its stiffness from the rain.

".. I'm .. really sorry .."

"You think this, _this_" the mayor's hand waved to the destroyed houses, the fires put out by the heavy rain. "can be solved by a 'Sorry'?!"

Laura kept silent, her gaze still on the ground,  
and Ginni stepped next to her.  
"You can't blame Laura for this!" she said. "It's my fault! I am the one who took her with to the Ranch!"

"But it's Laura who the Desians want!" one of the villagers said.

"And that means you can't stay here." the mayor agreed.

Laura nodded.  
"You want to banish her!?" Ginni gasped.

"What other choice do we have!? She's not even from here!"

Ginni bit her lips and clenched her fists, tears flowing over her cheeks along with rainwater.  
"You humans are all the same!" she hissed.  
Laura put a hand onto Ginni's shoulder and stepped ahead.

"Very well, I will leave."

"But .. Mayor, isn't it a bit harsh? She's still a child .." one of the women said.

"Just barely." another one said. "And what about the lives she caused to be taken!?"

"We couldn't just leave the people at the ranch being tortured!" Ginni tried to justify what they did.

"The people at the Ranch are going to die anyway!" the mayor huffed. "Now, by my state as the Mayor of Iselia-"

"Then banish me as well!" Ginni snapped at her. "Because I am the one who angered the Desians, too!"

The mayor looked at the two and finally nodded.  
"Very well .. by my state as the Mayor of Iselia, Ginevra Sage and Laura Irving are banished forever from this moment on!"

"Leave, get out!" the choir of villagers yelled and they left, leaving behind glares of hatred and refusal.

Pandron and Francesse, who had kept quiet the whole time and stood aside, stepped next to them.  
"What are you going to do now?" Francesse asked.

".. We're going to catch up to Kotaro." Laura said suddenly. "And we'll help him regenerate the world."

Pandron nodded.  
"Then go south of here, to Triet. Karen said they should head there, first."

The two girls nodded and left the village, Noishe waiting patiently for them.

* * *

"Hang on .. I need .. I need a break." Ginni gasped and leaned her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

They had been walking all day long, taking a short break at a House of Salvation.  
The day was going on, getting to it's end and the desert still seemed to get hotter and hotter.  
Laura stopped, too, and took the wrap and lacetop off, trying to cool down.

"Why is so hot here ..?" she asked with a sigh.

"Th-they say the heat is due to .. to Ifrit's presence .."

"Ifrit, eh? .. Hey, couldn't it be that-" Laura said, filled suddenly with energy.

"Mh, Kotaro and the others are probably close by. Remielle said something about a Seal to the south."

Filled with the prospect of catching up to Kotaro soon, they quickened their steps to the city in the middle of the desert.

The walls around the little city were made out of sandstone, smoothed by the storms that sometimes occured.  
It was hot and everything seemed to wave in the heat, but the people of Triet were of good nature.  
The two girls and the dog entered and stopped in their tracks when they saw the few Desians walking around,  
obviously searching for something.

They dived behind a little stall, where Noishe found rest.  
"They're looking for us, right?" Ginni asked.

"Most likely .."

One of the Desians gave orders to the other and stuck a paper to the board next to the Inn.  
He went off to search, too, the two girls carefully walking over to the poster and taking a glance at it.

It was a very bad sketch of Laura.  
".. It .. does strike a slight resemblance ..?" Ginni asked, trying not to laugh.

"I do not look like that .." Laura huffed and they walked around the city, trying to find Kotaro while also  
avoiding the Desians.  
They weren't able to find Kotaro, so then - by Ginni's suggestion - they went into the tent of the fortune teller.

It was hot, dark and a heavy and sweet aroma inside.  
The fortune teller, a young man, sat behind a table with a long silk cloth over it, a crystal ball on top.  
"Welcome, I will assist you in any way I can help." he greeted them.

"Um, well, we wanted to ask you, if you could tell us where Kota- .. the Chosen of Mana is at the moment?"

The man closed his eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again, smiling slightly.  
"That will be 1000 Gald."

"What!?" Ginni gasped.

"Pay up or leave."

With mutters, Laura handed over 1000 Gald and the man took it, setting it aside and hovered his hands over the crystal ball.  
He mumbled something inaudible to himself.  
"The Chosen is on his way to the west Ruins."

"Are you sure?" Ginni asked with a frown.

"Of course. The companion of the Chosen said it herself."

Laura and Ginni sighed and left the tent, taking a deep breath of fresh air and blinded by the sudden brightness.  
Still watching out for the Desians, they hastened their steps to the exit.  
Happy that they left the city without getting noticed, they didn't watch out for a second and Laura flinched  
when she got hit by a ball of electricity.  
Twitching with pain, she fell over unconscious in the hot sand and some Desians in red clothes appeared,  
picking her up.  
Ginni followed, more out of fright than of reflex.

* * *

Two Desians as guards were standing in front of a big, dome shaped house made out of steel.  
They looked up, seeing the little possee getting closer.  
"You got her?" one of the guards asked.

The Desian carrying Laura over his shoulder nodded and they got left in, the guards looking at Ginni.  
"What to do with the kid?" one guard asked, the other shrugging his shoulders.

Ginni snapped out of her worry for Laura, who was inside the building now , and frowned.  
"I've got to get away as soon as possible .." she thought to herself, wondering how to leave.

The two guards were still discussing what to do with her, when Ginni sniffed,  
one hand close to her mouth.  
They looked over to her.  
"I .. I'm sorry." she said and hicupped, tears spilling out of her big blue eyes. "I-I'm just so scared .. I didn't want  
to get dragged along with her .."

The guards stepped from one foot to another nervously.  
They didn't know how to act around small girls, especially if they were crying.  
"Ah, it's okay, little Girl." one of them finally said, waving a hand. "Go. Go home."

Ginni looked at them, her wet eyes big with delight, her body tensing.  
"I .. I can leave?"

"Yes, go on." the other one nodded, happy to get rid of her.

"Oh .." Ginni nodded, smiling. "Really? Thank you so much! You are such nice men! Thank you!"  
She left running, grinning to herself from a safe distance.  
"Hehe, I can get almost anything with crying!"

* * *

"Ow .."  
Laura got up slowly, holding her head and looked around.  
She was in a small cell, the bars made of thick steel.  
Climbing off the uncomfortable plate that was supposed to be a bed, she stepped to the bars.  
Some Desians were miling around.

"What does Bato-sama want to do with her?" one of them asked.

"Don't know. She's just going to hand her over to the Leader, anyway. You know she wanted her."

"True .. probably wants to do the final blow herself."

Laura looked queasy at the thought of being killed by someone who was referred to as 'the Leader'  
and watched as another Desian came and took the others with him, one remaining to walk along the  
hall, to make sure that Laura wouldn't escape.

"I'm not going to stay here, waiting to be killed." she muttered to herself and went to the bars as close as possible.  
The Desian kept walking along the hall, the keys jiggling off the side of his hip.  
Laura thrust her hand and arm through the bars, grabbing the Desian's leg and pulling it towards her,  
the Desian fell and the keys got knocked off the hook on his belt.

Laura made a grab for them and opened the lock to her cell and made a run for it.  
"Prisoner has escaped!" the Desian called, hitting a button which caused an alarm to go off.

The brunette looked around, trying to orientate herself and looked happy, seeing her swords placed  
carelessly next to the wall.  
She grabbed them, putting them around her hip again and unsheathed them, seeing some Desians charging at her.  
Laura jumped over them, landing behind the enemies and turned, slashing them or knocking them unconscious  
why thrusting the hilt of her swords into the back of their necks.

"Dammit!" she cursed, seeing back up running towards her.  
She made a run for it, running through several passages and ducking in and out of rooms to avoid  
getting caught again.

"There she is!" a Desian yelled and charged at her.  
Laura looked around frantically, entering a room in the last minute.

The room was big and had a thick carpet in it and looked rather comfortable and safe,  
so she sighed and let her guard down for a bit.

"Who are you?" a sharp voice asked her and Laura turned around.  
A woman was looking at her, one hand on her hip, looking annoyed.

She had long blue hair, her bangs obscurring her right eye a bit, tied back into a loose ponytail with a black  
silk ribbon, the ends of her hair curling slightly.  
Her eyes were just as blue.  
She was wearing steelcapped boots in black with golden highlights on them, thin black pants with a same colored top  
that fitted to her body well, the tracings being red, as was the belt.  
A cape was thrown over one shoulder, tied around with the same belt.

Laura frowned, thinking that she might be an enemy, so as better not to trust her.  
"Before you ask other people for their names, how about telling your own?"

The woman chuckled slightly.  
"Pardon if I speak plain, but I don't give my name to nobodies like you."

"Then we understand each other perfectly." the brunette smirked at the bluehaired one. "Because I don't tell my name  
to idiots."

"You ..!" the bluehaired one hissed and grab at Laura, who lifted her hands in instinct. The older one flinched, staring at the Exsphere.  
She stepped closer. "Are you .... Laura?"

"What of it?"

The bluehaired one studied her face, her lines and the glare in her eyes.  
"I definitely see a resemblance .." she mumbled, when the door slid open again  
and Bato entered.

"Leader!" she said and stopped for a second, seeing Laura, then looked back at the other one. "The Chosen and his companions  
have infiltrated."

"Bato, I leave it to you! Our plans will be ruined if she sees me!" the Leader said and left the room through a different door,  
just as the other one opened and in dashed Ginni, followed by Kotaro and Karen.

"Laura!" the Chosen said and looked worried. "Are you okay?"

"She seems fine." Karen muttered, a slight relief in her voice.

"You're all here at once." Bato said and pulled out a big red bastard sword. "That leaves me less work."

She charged at them, with all her force.  
Karen dodged the attack, while Laura unsheathed her swords again and attacked Bato,  
who parried the hit in time.  
Ginni was in the back, casting a spell, while Kotaro grabbed his Slicers from underneath his long vest.

Karen got a hit with the hilt of her sword into Bato's back, the latter loosening the grip of her sword and it banged onto the floor.  
Bato glared at them.  
"We'll get you next time .." she muttered and followed through the door the Leader had left through a while ago.  
They sheathed their respective weapons again and made their way out of the Base, Karen leading the way.

Outside, Refill was waiting for them.  
"I'm glad to see you're alright, Laura." he said. "And I want to apologize for the trouble Ginni has caused you."

The silverhaired girl looked ashamed to the floor.  
"It's okay, Sensei." Laura waved her hand. "It was my fault, too-"

"Better keep the chit-chat for later." Karen said and went ahead.

The way led them back to Triet, where they got rooms in the Inn.

* * *

"Iyaah!"  
Laura sat up suddenly in bed and turned to her left, where she saw someone standing.  
A slight breeze was felt on her cheeks and the light came on, everyone rushing in, except for Karen,  
who had been sharing the room with her.

"Laura, what's wrong?" Refill asked.

"Someone was here, just now." she said and got up. For sleeping, she had changed into loose pants that  
came down to her knees and a big white shirt that had writing on it, although now it was not readable through the many folds.

"You okay?" Kotaro asked, wrapping the arms around himself to keep warm.

"Yeah .. he ran off when I noticed his presence .."

"Well, thankfully, everything is okay now." Refill sighed and they left after another round of 'Good Night's.

Laura lay back down again and after a while she fell back asleep.

* * *

**And I'll stop here for now.  
I first thought I should put the Scene in where she follows Karen outside.  
It would've been funny, when the sword almost hits her and she goes "Tonight's just not my night!"  
or something like that.  
But I decided not to.  
I'm not quite sure what to do with Flanoir yet - but it will be with Karen.**


	3. The Second Seal I

**And I continue on Chapter 3.  
I don't quite know how to make Shihna's male clothes ..**

* * *

The day was hotter than the one before and they took longer than they thought to  
get to the Ruins of old Triet located to the West.  
Upon arrival, Laura sighed.

"Hot .."

"And you're bored again." Ginni sighed.

"I'm SICK of this desert!" the brunette whailed.

Kotaro just smiled about her and he and Refill went ahead.  
Refill stopped in his tracks, his eyes grew wide and his lips stretched.  
"Oh no .." Ginni gasped, knowing what was going to come, but wasn't in time to stop it.

Refill's shoulders shook and he left out a high-pitched laugh.  
"Marvelous!" his voice got high with delight. "Just LOOK at this stonetablet! It's CEARLY  
from a VERY different material than the surrounding stone!"

Karen's lip curled.  
"Is he always like this around Ruins?"

Refill's hands caressed the tablet and he kept muttering to himself.  
"Is he?" Laura asked.

".. I kept trying to hide it .." Ginni sighed, covering her face with her hands.

Refill let out that highpitched laugh once more.  
"Just as I thought! This stone is made from Polycarbonate!" his hands caressed the tablet again,  
like it was made out of breakable glass. "Used to defend against Magic in the Acient War .. Just  
FEEL the SMOOTH surface!"

He stepped up and saw a little raised platform and inspected it.  
"Kotaro! Put your hand here!" he ordered. "It should open the entrance."

"Really?" Laura asked slightly sceptical.

"This device had been made to identify the Chosen. There's no doubt possible!" he snapped  
while Kotaro stepped forward and took his white glove off before putting his hand onto the platform.

With a rumble, the stonetablet slid aside and revealed a stoney uneven staircase that led underground.  
"Wow, I really AM the Chosen One." Kotaro said, a slight sadness about it in his voice.

"We know .." Ginni sighed and they went downstairs.

The inside was mostly dark but lit with a lot of torches on the walls.  
It seemed to be even hotter in here than outside.

"If it's getting hotter, we're getting closer to the Altar Room, right?" Laura asked with a sigh.

She held a hand underneath her ponytail, so it wouldn't touch her already hot skin.

"That's right." Kotaro said and promptly tripped, knocking a bit of his forehead onto a big door.

The two eldest from the group stared at the door, while Laura helped Kotaro up.

* * *

The big door got pushed open and they entered,

seeing a black altar with a fire blazing in the middle.

Refill was busy inspecting the walls.

"Magnificent! These walls are infused with Magi-Technology!" he gasped.

Kotaro took a deep breath before stepping closer to the altar and with a rumble,

the fire formed itself into a creature that resembled a giant wolf.

"What's that!?" Laura gasped, unsheathing her swords right away.

"The Guardian of the Fire Seal." Karen told her calmly and unsheathed her own sword. "Ginni!"

"Y-yes!" Ginni jumped a foot at the adress.

"Laura and I will act as a decoy, while you cast your best water or ice based spells. Got it?"

The girl nodded and retreated a few steps back to her brother, who was going to take care of

any injury that might sustain, Kotaro attacking mostly from the middle, since his slicers  
were best used at middle-range.

Laura and Karen ran ahead, striking the wolf guardian from each side, confusing it,

until every now and then there was a shout from Ginni of "Icicle!" or "Aqua Edge!", Kotaro mostly

made a sudden attack from behind, causing the wolf to leave itself wide open for attacks again.

The wolf burst into flames and a voice echoed through the room.

"Now, Chosen One, proceed to the Altar and pray."

Kotaro nodded and ascended the steps to the altar and lay his head down, folding his hands.

He prayed and didn't look up until the golden light disappeared, Remielle looking down on him.

"Well done, Chosen Kotaro." she said and smiled, spreading her hands. "We of Cruxis grant you Angel Powers."

Light spheres spread from Remielle's wings and floated down to Kotaro, penetrating his back.

With a burst of light, pearly, dusty pink wings erupted from his back.

They stared, while Remielle continued to smile.

"The next Seal lies to the far East. Endure - both the Journey and the Trial of Angels,  
and we will see each other at the Seal of Water, Kotaro." she said and  
disappeared in the same golden light she always appeared in.

Refill was folding out a worldmap and checked it together with Karen,

while Kotaro turned to them and came down.

"Wow .. Kotaro has wings." Ginni gasped and couldn't get her eyes off them.

"Hey, look." Kotaro said and turned around and started to flap them, making Ginni jump up and down with  
enthusiasm.

Laura smiled exasperated and went to the others.

"East of here .." she muttered.

"We'd have to go to Palmacosta .. across the Sea." Refill muttered.

"Ah, we'll be going in a ship, right? That's so cool!"

Karen smirked slightly, but she called the two younger ones along and they made their way out of the temple.

The brightness of the sun blinded them for a bit when they got out,  
still accostumed to the darkness inside.

They were to go to Triet for a rest, before heading east to the Ossa Trail, which led to Izoold, where they  
would search for someone to bring them over the sea.

But a few steps on, Kotaro suddenly jerked and fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder.

"Kotaro?" Ginni asked worried and knelt down to him. "Are you okay?"

"I .. I'm .. fine .." he gasped, clenching his teeth.

"You most certainly are _not_!" Refill huffed and helped him up. ".. best to take you to a doctor! Your lips  
are starting to turn blue-"

"Wait." Karen stopped them. "Remember the Angel's words? This might be part of the Trial for Angels. It's best to  
get him to rest, instead of dragging him to a far away city."

They agreed and built up a camp.

* * *

Kotaro seemed to feel much better after a little rest, sitting up and now had more color in his face than before.

Laura walked over to him.

"I know this is late, but .." she said and searched for something in her pockets. "I got your present done."

She found it and pulled it out, the golden chain broken into three seperate pieces.

"Ah, when did that happen?" she asked with a gasp and looked depressed. "Sorry, Kotaro. I have no idea  
how it could've broke. I swear, I'll fix it!"

Kotaro smiled like he always did.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

Laura nodded and smiled back, going back to Noishe, who was close to Karen.  
Noishe seemed to be quiet fond of her, since she permitted the mercenary to use her as a backrest.

"You once had a pet?" the brunette asked, sitting down next to those two.

"Yes, .. why?"

"Well, Noishe usually doesn't like strangers." Laura explained. "But she seems fine with you. She can probably

sense that you were good to your pet."

Karen's lips curled slightly.

"I heard what happened at Iselia."

The brunette flinched and finally sighed, scratching Noishe behind her big ears absently-minded.

".. That with the ranch and Iselia .. it was my fault. I should have hid my face from the beginning."

Karen nodded slightly.

"You see your mistakes very easily."

Laura frowned at that comment, but didn't try to find out what

the mercenary meant with it.

In the morning, they started their way very early, trying to avoid the hottest bit of the day from Triet.

They quickly stocked up on food supplies and other things,

heading straight to the East.

* * *

About midday they reached the Ossa Trail, already noticing that the heat got less, the further they  
got from the desert and closer to the sea.

Before ascending the Trail, they made a short break to cool down.

"Hold on!" someone called out.

They looked around and all of a sudden, someone jumped down in front of them.

The man was young, just barely hitting his twens, ravenblack hair where the longer

sides were swept to the back like a ponytail, the shorter hairs just falling down,

reaching his chin.

He was wearing black pants that got tucked into boots with metal plates that reached about

halfway up his knees, a lilac jacket with short sleeves was loosely

tied around his waist, revealing a bandage around his chest and stomach area,

gloves, in a lilac color as well, were reaching up to midway of his lower arm, metal plates on

them as well as armour, something stuck underneath them.

"What?" Laura asked, surprised at the outfit of the man as well as his appearance.

"A friend of yours, Laura?" Kotaro asked.

"Hmm .."

The man ignored the comments.

"Is the Chosen of Mana among you?"

"Ah," Kotaro put a hand in reassurance over his Cruxis Crystal. "that would be me."

The man side-glanced at the blond and glared, a sneer creeping up his lips.

He pulled something out from the metal plates on his arms and charged at Kotaro.

"Die!"

Karen rushed forwards, but Kotaro jumped back, falling over and held onto the first

thing he could find.  
It was a big lever and he pulled it along in his fall.

A trapdoor opened underneath the stranger and he looked down, realizing what was happening.

"Ah .." was his last remark, before falling and disappearing into the darkness.

"O- .. Uhoh!" Kotaro gasped and scrambled himself up to crawl to the hole. "Sir, are you alright?"

No answer was heard, so he looked around frantically.

"I did it again!"

"Kotaro, it's okay." Laura said, frowning slightly. "He was trying to kill you."

"I'm still worried, though .."

Ginni leaned her hands onto her knees and looked down the hole.

"Hmmm .." she calculated in her head for a bit. "Assuming that his weight was about 55 to

60 kilogramm and this hole to be 10 meters deep .. and not to forget the velocity of gravity ..

the impact shouldn't be fatal."

"Ve.. loci.. ty of gravity?" Laura held her head and shook it. "Argh, whatever! You're saying that  
he's alright?"

"Probably."

Karen sighed silently at the excitement and went a few steps ahead.  
"Let's go."

"Hang on, shouldn't we find out who that was?" Laura asked.

"The Trail is slim and not very sturdy. It'd be best, if we hurry along." she advised them  
and they followed her lead.

Reaching the top of the mountaintrail seemed long, but the descend was quicker than they thought.

On the way down, Karen slowed down to walk aside Laura.

"You seem a bit down."

"Eh? Mh .." Laura sighed, rubbing her neck. "I just don't seem to be that strong after all."

"How come?"

"Well, when we were fighting against the Fire Guardian, I noticed that I wasn't fast enough

and I often missed."

Karen looked at her and smirked slightly.

"If you want to, I'd gladly teach you some techniques."

The brunette looked at the mercenary and finally nodded.

They both started and grabbed their swords when the old wooden wall next to them fell.

The stranger from before was behind it.

"Wait!" he said, holding his weapons, which looked like stiff cards, in his hands.

"Wooow .." Laura whistled through her teeth. "He caught up with us."

"That before just caught me off guard .." he growled. "This time, I won't get stunned!"

He threw a card behind him and it floated in midair.

Only after he did some complicated hand movements did it explode in a burst of smoke

and a big red bird was there instead.

The stranger was fast and could jump far and high, therefore making it hard for Karen and Laura

to catch him, while Kotaro was busy distracting the bird from it's obsession with

Refill and Ginni, who were busy casting their spells.

But they managed to destroy the bird, which turned back into a sliced piece of paper and the

guy was brought down to the ground.

Karen had her sword at his throat and was glareing down at him, who just snarled back.

The stranger grabbed a bunch of sand and threw it at her.

She stepped back, one arm protecting her eyes from the sand, the guy taking his chance

and swung himself up.

"I'll get you next time, Chosen One!" he snapped at her and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"W-wait!" Laura jumped forward, trying to catch him, but only got a fistful of air. ".. Why is

he trying to kill us?"

"Who knows?" Karen said and sheathed her sword. "There are always people who

are against regeneration."

"The clothes .."

"Sensei?" Kotaro asked, looking at his teacher.

"Mh, nothing at all. Well, let's go - the second Seal is getting closer."

* * *

"Maxime, please!" the man with red hair underneath his bandana begged. "It's only one letter!"

"But I won't do it, Lye." the woman said, her skin roughened by the sea and ropes.

The group watched it for a moment, until Kotaro stepped up to them.

"Excuse me, but is there a problem?" he asked in a good-natured way.

Lye turned around, wearing capris that were once full lengthed jeans but got cut off

and a tankshirt that had a grease spot on the left side.

"Well, I want Maxime to give this letter to Aira in Luin, but she won't do it."

"Lye," Maxime said. "you know I love to help you. But I am not going to turn myself into your

girl-in-waiting."

"It's only one letter."

"That's what you said last time."

"Um, if it isn't rude .." Kotaro started and took a deep breath. "Well, we'd give Aira the letter.  
If Maxime-san is so friendly and will give us a ride over to Palmacosta."

The two fighters looked at him for a while and finally sighed.

Lye handed over the letter.

"Make sure to give it to him, it's very important!"

Kotaro nodded and smiled, tucking the letter into his pocket,

while Maxime shook her head.

"I said No, Lye!"

"Look, you like to help me, right? So, help me by getting these people to Palmacosta!" he snapped at her

and left.

Maxime sighed and shook her head.

"Tell me, when you are ready to leave."

They stocked up on ingredients - mostly fish - that they hadn't found in Triet and helped Maxime

as well as they could to prepare the ship.

"I always knew at some point we'd have to cross the sea .." Refill muttered under his breath,

but got in when everything was done.

"Wow, we're really on the sea!" Ginni cheered, jumping up and down.

"Ah, Ginni, stop that! This ship is small, we could fall off!" the brunette stopped her.

"Hmpf! Sorry that my ship is too small for your liking!" Maxime huffed.

It was getting on to evening when they reached the coastline of Palmacosta.

They got off and were a bit wobbly on their knees on the stillness of the harbor ground instead

of the gentle rocking they had gotten used to.

"What are you going to do now, Maxime?" Kotaro asked.

"I'll stay here for the night and ask a military ship to accompany me back to Izoold." she told them

and their ways departed.

They walked around the harbor market for a while, looking at the spices, ingredients

and other things that were so different than from the village they had come from.

It wasn't long, until Kotaro knocked into someone, both falling down.

"Ow!" a guy with a shock of blue hair said and gasped when he got up. "You broke the Palmawine we got!"

A red liquid was on the floor, shards of green glass strewn across it.

Kotaro hastily got up.

"I'm so sorry!" he gasped.

"Sorry?!" a girl with red hair that was reaching down to her knees said. "You think that's going to be enough?"

"Hey, he said he's sorry, that shows better manners than you guys have." Laura snapped at the other girl,

who seemed ready to fight.

"Hey, hey, keep it down!" a young guy with blond hair in waves said, adjusting his glasses on his nose

and the book in his hand. "Just get us a new wine and we'll forget the whole thing. I wanna leave before

they find out."

They agreed and, steaming with fury, Laura led the way to the first shop they encountered.

Inside, two Desians were glareing at a teenaged boy, who was slamming his hand on the counter in front of him.

"Don't be ridiculous!" he snapped. "Nobody would sell Gummis for such a low price! We need to make a living, after all!"

"Heh, you'd better watch your mouth or else you're head will roll along with it on the floor." one of the Desians snapped,

but the boy just threw his head back.

"Try and fail! Dora will do her best to defeat you guys!"

One of the Desians was about to take a step towards the boy, but the other one held him back.

"Don't! We already reached the Limit for this year. If we want a higher limit, we'll have to ask Magistra-sama."

So, they left, glareing at the group while leaving, aside from Laura and Karen, who glared back.

The boy hufed and shook his head.

He had chocolate brown eyes with fitting hair that got pulled back into a tight ponytail, wearing an amber colored

sweatshirt with a brown vest over it, a blue kerchief around his neck and brown pants.

"Damn Desians .." he muttered and turned to the older man behind the other counter. "Dad, I'm off to work."

"Take care of yourself, Choton." the man said in worry over his son's behavior. He then spotted the group. "Ah,  
Costumers, I'm so sorry that you had to see that. Please, have a look around."

He had pale skin with brown hair about down to his chin and was wearing jeans with a blue sweater over it.

They looked around the counters and shelves, finally seeing some Palmawine.

"Pretty expensive .." Laura muttered.

"If you are short on money, I suggest going to the academy." the man offered. "The chef is low on staff

and will pay well for any help she can get."

They thanked him for the information and, upon getting easy instructions where the academy was,

they left and went over one of the bridges that linked the parts of the city together.

In the middle, a girl had pulled a woman's robe.

"Dora-san, when will my mother come back?" the girl asked.

Dora was a tall woman with long dirty-blond hair that she tied into a twisty ponytail,

wearing a white robe with purple ornaments and a fitting jacket.

A young boy with a shock of curly blonde hair was next to her, holding her hand.  
The boy was wearing a purple jacket with darkblue pants.

"I've been a good girl all this time .." the girl sighed.

"I will do my best and get your mother back, little one." Dora answered her and smiled.

"Don't worry." the boy said with a slightly sharp voice. "When my father died five years ago,

Mother continued to strengthen our armee, so we could defeat the Desians and rescue everyone."

The girl seemed to calm down and left again, Dora and the boy entering a big building,

which was probably the government building.

"That was Dora?" Laura asked.

One of the people, who were talking looked over to her.

"Yes," he said. "Dora-sama has done her best to strengthen our armee and free the city from

the influence of the Desians."

"So, there's a Human Ranch close by?"

The man nodded. "It's east of here, behind a mountain chain."

* * *

"Welcome, travellers." Dora greeted them, smiling widely. "We go after Martel's laws and

you are welcome to stay one night for free in our Inn."

Kotaro bowed to the kindness, while Karen came to buisness.

"Dora-san, we heard that the Book Of Worldregeneration has been in your family for several generations."

"That is true."

"We would like a look into it, if you allow us." Refill said.

Dora looked at each of them for a long time.

".. Are you saying, that you are the Chosen's Group?"

"Yes, that we are." Kotaro nodded and smiled.

"I see .. Seize them!" Dora ordered the guards and they all stepped closer to the group, surrounding them.  
"The Chosen and his companions were just here! You're frauds!"

One of the guards made a grab for Kotaro, who tried to dodge it and fell, his wings bursting out

suddenly.

The boy on Dora's side gasped.  
"Look, Mother! Wings! He looks like an angel!"

".. Forget it!" Dora waved to the guards, who retreated. "We apologize for our behavior. You see ..

A little while ago, a group came who said that they were the Chosen and his companions,

asking for the Book of Worldregeneration. We had heard that the Chosen might come by, so,

we thought that they were who they claimed to be and gave them the book."

Ginni slapped her forehead and shook her silverish maine.  
"I can't believe it! You just gave an important book like that to someone who claimed to be the Chosen?  
Do you humans even use the eyes in your head or-"

Refill silenced her with a smack to the head. "Quiet!" he turned to Dora. "Do you by chance know

what is written inside the book?"

"No. It's written in angellanguage and only the highpriests would be able to read it." Dora told them

and sighed. "I'm really sorry."

With a sigh, they left and entered the academy, asking around where the cafeteria was.

The chef greeted them. She was a stout women who's hands were rough from handling knives and peeling

a lot of vegetables.

"Yes, I'm looking for people right now. I need someone who will take the orders and some help in the kitchen,too."

Kotaro offered to take the orders, while Karen said she'd help the chef, Laura helping too.

The Chosen stood behind the counter now and Laura and Karen fiddled with their hair to keep it under control.

Laura's eyes caught something when Karen pulled her hair up and twisted it into an elegant bun.

"Those are pretty earrings."

Karen instinctively touched them. They were hanging ones, the crest was golden, the

stones in the middle were a midnight blue color.

"Ah, thank you." she hastily said and took them out, putting them into a pocket. "They were a present .. from my husband."

The last words came out fast and Laura was a bit surprised, but remained quiet,

already hearing Kotaro's voice giving through orders from students.

Karen was ordered to take care of any fish or meat dish to get ordered, Laura taking over the vegetarian dishes

and drinks.  
The chef always made sure that the presentation was right as well, before sending it out.

A few times Kotaro had to run back and change his order, having gotten it wrong in the first place.

After several hours of madness and stress,

the chef told them they did a good job and paid them.

Kotaro urged them on to hurry to the shop from before and bought a bottle of Palmawine.

"Thank you for using Marlmu's All Purpose Shop." the man thanked them and they left, going back to the group

Kotaro had smashed into.

The palmawine got handed over and put safely into a pocket.

"Hmm, you guys sure seem to be a good bunch of gals and lads." the girl with red hair said and turned to the others.

"Let's hurry onwards before their brains get it."

A stout girl wearing a leather vest and some short pants frowned.  
"What are we going to do with the book, Sis?"

"Give it to that geez Katari, what else?"

They left, the group wondering.

"Hey .. couldn't those have been the frauds?" Laura asked.

"It was rather obvious, Laura .." Refill sighed.

"You should really hurry your mind along to catch up with what's happening." Ginni smirked.

"Ah, quiet!"

* * *

**Ehehehe .. my boyfriend agrees with me that Sh- .. eh, Shihna's male form looks hawt.  
At least, I don't really think so .. but he says, if he were Laura, he'd do him.**

**Although .. I can't really see Shihna's male form and Laura getting together ..**


End file.
